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The winter game drop for Minecraft has arrived — and it includes the first new weapon introduced into the title since the heavy club made its debut. The lance is finally here and it has the potential to alter your gameplay in Minecraft, particularly when you love chaos.

An Armament Designed for Chaotic Rides

The Mounts of Mayhem drop also adds a host of fresh elements and updates focused on animal mounts in the game. That driving concept made the spear the natural choice for this release, as the development team had already known it was the moment to introduce a fresh combat tool.

"From the outset, we understood that we aimed for a new weapon that would add some more range, and we designed it specifically for fighting from atop a creature," stated a lead developer. "We experimented with a few different ideas, but the lance was the one that both felt great when we tested our prototypes and also looked good for the use case."

If you're asking yourself whether mounted combat means you can joust against your friends on horseback, the answer is a definite affirmative. In fact, there's even an combat move perfectly suited for it.

"Mounted lance combat] is one of the biggest applications for the spear, and it's a blast," the developer adds. "The spear has a dual attack system: You have the jab attack, where you just stab your enemy. But you also have a powerful lance where you couch your lance and deal greater injury [with] the more pace you have. So [it’s] perfect for mounted duels."

Aerial Mayhem & Deep-Sea Exploration

The chaotic fun doesn't have to stop there, though. If you're deep enough into the game that you've visited The End, the developers have an delightfully absurd idea. "If you are very late, [spears are] ideal for equipping the elytra and going out and unleashing absolute pandemonium," she hints.

In other words: Jousting in the clouds is now a reality, and it should be made an competitive event right away.

Another key feature in this fresh content is the Nautilus. This underwater creature, which is modeled after the seashells we've all been collecting for years, can be tamed and ridden for deep-sea journeys. Not only will it transport you through the water more swiftly than swimming, it'll also maintain your oxygen levels, so there's no necessity to come up for air for a breath.

The rest of the additions are largely things that seek your demise, as is the tradition of Minecraft. As expected, there's also a undead nautilus popping up in the water, frequently with a Drowned on its back. If you succeed in take care of the Drowned, though, you can claim the zombie Nautilus — or the standard version, for that matter — with a spiky fish.

"We've pondered this challenge for some time, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to also bring in something for aquatic environments," the lead elaborates. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a number of concepts for underwater mounts that we wanted to try out, but the Nautilus concept art looked compelling, and we have the connection to the Nautilus shell that was pre-existing in the game."

She also adds that there are actually two different types of zombie Nautilus: regular and coral zombie Nautilus. "[The variants] provide diversity to what you find underwater."

Desert Dangers and Long-Awaited Tweaks

Other additions include the Parched, desert-exclusive skeletons that can endure the sun, which means there's no refuge from them if you end up in that environment. Sometimes you'll see them on zombified camels, another fresh creature. These passive, zombified camels have an striking appearance that sees their bones protruding. The applies equally to undead steeds, who have a analogous exposed-rib aesthetic and can sometimes be spawned in the darkness with a lance-wielding zombie on their back.

The last two things on the drop's list are minor quality-of-life improvements, including some highly requested tweaks to equestrian travel. Now, you can traverse bodies of water while riding a horse. Furthermore, high-tier barding is now craftable at the crafting table, so you can give your horse the best defense it deserves.

A Spicy Send-Off for the Year

All told, the final game drop of the year is a solid offering. The spear by itself — and the mayhem it enables — would have constituted a major improvement. Combine that with the Nautilus, and more things trying to kill you, and Minecraft's definitely getting a touch more chaotic.

The Mounts of Mayhem update is out now for Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft.